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Homemade Gift Tags Day 3: Photo Gift Tags with Shutterfly

by | DIY


This is a sponsored post on behalf of Shutterfly in collaboration with Looksisquare.  I received free product for this post, but all opinions, photos and cute kids are my own.

We’re on Day 3 of our 12 day journey into the heart of homemade gift tag ideas, and today’s is a bit more fancy pants, thanks to the printing geniuses over at Shutterfly.

If you take a step back for a moment and look at the somewhat larger picture (no pun intended), gift tags are for identification.  As in “This big present from Grandma is MINE, thank you very much.  You have your own over THERE.”  And as creatively as you can decorate homemade gift tags to reflect the holidays or special occasions, you still need a name on it, somehow.  Or rather, two names.  One being the recipient, one being the sender – possibly Santa Claus, in this case.

Customize gift tags with photos | www.1dogwoof.com

But what if you don’t write a name on the tag?  What if you just used photos instead?  I received these beautiful Shutterfly gift tags and added photos of my family to personalize them.  I already use Shutterfly to create memory books and fun greeting cards and have always appreciated the quality of the products I received.  The gift tags were no different.  They are cut from nice thick card stock and the design was simple and elegant.  I had mine made with just our last name (blurred out for privacy), so I could add different photos to them.

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No Instructions Needed

All I did was print out black and white photos with headshots scaled down to 1.5 inches in order to fit the 2 inch width of the Shutterfly gift tags.  Then I cut out the photos with my handy dandy circle cutter, and glued them to the gift tag.  Punch a hole in the corner and your gift tag is ready to go!

Customize gift tags with photos | www.1dogwoof.com

Gift Tags Outside the Box

These photo gift tags can be put to multiple uses too!  Here’s my little brainstorming list:

  • Indicate the recipient of a gift.
  • Indicate the giver of a gift – see the gift tag with the full family portrait.  It says “you gift is from all of us!”
  • Hang them from some branches for a “family photo” tree.
  • Laminate them for personalized ornaments.
  • Use them as placecards for the holiday meal.

gift_tag_shutterfly-5

Photo Bribery

Did you know Shutterfly also makes plates that can be customized with your photos?

Before LM was born, I stocked up on small gifts for big brother J because I wasn’t sure how the adjustment period was going to go.  Everyone kept warning me about how I could see disciplinary problems, jealousy, or a desire to regress back to babyhood.  I was afraid that all the progress we’d made with giving up the pacifier and being completely potty trained would be lost.  So, I wanted to have a stash of stuff I could use as positive reinforcement prizes…or to be honest, bribes, in case things didn’t go so well with the new baby.  Plus, my sister was going to be doing a lot of babysitting while I was in the hospital, and J is not known for being a good dinner partner.  I was hoping a new personalized plate with his favorite character on it would help ease the whininess we tend to see at mealtimes and maybe help Connie to get him to eat a decent meal when Drew and I weren’t home.

gift_tag_shutterfly-4

Well, it worked like a charm.  He was super excited about the plate and was amazed to see his own face staring back at him.  And Lightning McQueen too?!  Dinner just got a lot more fun.  Between the plate, a secret collection of matchbox cars, and the fact that he didn’t know his aunt’s tolerance for shenanigans, the initial adjustment period went by without a hitch, which made all our lives that much easier!

It’s amazing what a little photo personalization can do, isn’t it?

Here’s more gift tag inspiration!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12

20 Comments

  1. amy @ one artsy mama

    Ooh, I’m LOVING those gift tags! Might have to order some for us!!

  2. Kadie

    What great gift tags!!! I love that you were able to personalize them, everyone loves something personalized. 🙂

  3. Marilyn

    ChiWei I LOVE these gift tags! So easy and yet personalized! These are truly classy tags, my friend!

  4. Susan

    So sophisticated and love that they’re personalized.

  5. Melanie

    These are so pretty!

  6. ChiWei

    Thanks Melanie!

  7. ChiWei

    Thank you Susan!

  8. ChiWei

    I love them too Marilyn – I’m diggin the simplicity of them 🙂

  9. ChiWei

    Thank you Kadie! I love how the big blank space on them gives me plenty of room for a decent sized photo. And who doesn’t love seeing their face on their gifts, right?

  10. ChiWei

    They’re really nice Amy, you won’t regret it!

  11. Kirsten @ One Tough Mother

    Such a great idea ChiWei! I love that you added the photos to the tags, and the plate? So cute! You could use those little tags for all kinds of occasions…now my wheels are spinning! 🙂

  12. Kara

    Love these!

  13. ChiWei

    Spinning wheels are a good thing Kirsten! They should spin and throw off glitter at the same time like those fireworks or sparklers thingies. I’m tempted to use these tags all over the house as ID tags, since J can’t read, but he knows his own face. Maybe if I put my face on my laptop, he won’t try to play with it so much 🙂

  14. ChiWei

    Thanks Kara!

  15. Sky

    Your photos of your son are flat out adorable! Great idea to use pics instead of names on gifts- would work great for my little one who can’t read yet! 🙂

  16. ChiWei

    Thanks Sky! A photographer friend took the pictures – I’m not fast enough to capture photos of my son, he’s quite the bouncing ball!

  17. Lauren @ The Thinking Closet

    Okay, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea, ChiWei. Truly, brilliant! I always used to play “Santa” as a kid, and would have loved the ease of having faces to go by instead of scribbly handwriting (scribbly because I’m sure my parents were getting tired of late-night wrapping). Also, I need a circle cutter. Do you have a recommendation on where to buy one?

  18. Paula@SweetPea

    What a great idea to use names instead of faces on gift tags. Love it!

  19. ChiWei

    Thanks Paula!

  20. Britni

    What a creative way to use photos, love this!

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